What did she just say?
Hearing her sudden words, my entire body stiffened.
Cognitive Shard. Cognitive Shard. Cognitive Shard.
The words played on repeat inside my mind. It replayed over and over again as I thought about the two words that I hadn't heard in a long time, but had been trying to figure out how to cure.
As far as I knew, there was no cure for it.
The only cure was the strange system that I had.
And yet…
This woman in front of me was telling me that she had the same disease as me?
That she managed to live for so long despite having the same disease?
I couldn't understand it.
Had I been lied to the entire time? Was there really no cure like those from the Guild suggested?
…Was the strange system really the only place that could cure me from this disease of mine?
No, most importantly, how could she even tell? None of the people I had met had noticed anything. Be it the Section Chief. The Team Leaders, and even Kyle... How did she notice it so quickly?
"You should look at your… expression."
The woman's smile widened as she looked at me. She seemed to relish in my internal turmoil.
"You've probably... been told so many times how there is no way to cure your disease. How you're just going to die away without being able to fight it… I bet that's all you heard your entire life."
It was.
It really was.
But back then, my circumstances were different.
No one knew what the strange disease that was eating at me was. All the doctors that I had somehow managed to visit came back with the same answer.
My mind was deteriorating, but there was nothing wrong with my brain.
It was only once I came to this strange world that I came to learn about the identity of the disease that had been plaguing me for so long.
Cognitive Shard.
I… had a Cognitive Shard.
But it was also the moment that I understood what my disease was that I found myself becoming lost.
As far as I understood, Cognitive Shards came from the over-fragmentation of the nodes within one's body.
I had no nodes.
In fact, there was no such thing as nodes in my previous world. Anomalies were also not a thing. They were more like fiction than anything else.
And yet…
Somehow, someway, I had a Cognitive Shard?
How did this make sense?
It didn't make sense at all. There were so many questions regarding my current situation that I desperately wanted to see the answer to.
But more than anything, I wanted to be cured.
I wanted to be free for once in my life. I didn't want to wake up thinking that this very day could be my last.
I wanted to wake up knowing that this day…
It was a day that I could look forward to.
"You look hesitant. I hit… right in the nail, didn't I?"
The old woman continued to speak, my pressure over her neck weakening slightly as she appeared to notice this.
"I can see that you're desperately looking for a cure to your disease. I can provide that for you. I can… cure you."
Her words were like a whisper of temptation.
Listening to her words, voices began to whisper in my mind.
'Listen to her.'
'Take the cure…'
'She's the living example that the cure works. You don't even know the real intention of the system. Isn't it easier to listen to her?'
For a moment, I faltered.
For the briefest of moments… I actually considered the notion of turning to the cult.
But it was only for a brief moment.
"What do you say? If you let me go—"
"No."
I cut the woman off, whipping the smile from her face at the same time as her face slowly started to change. It slowly… became emotionless.
Her eyes became more hollow, and just one look at her was enough to give me chills.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
There was no hesitation on my end.
I knew very well that even if I wanted to take the offer, the system would probably not allow me to do it. Not only that, but I'd also be forced to do all sorts of things for the guild.
I already had the system with me.
And not only that, it also helped me develop games.
That was all that I wanted to do.
I was… after all, a horror game developer.
Joining some sort of strange cult I had no idea about was not something I was entirely inclined to do.
I wanted to traumatize people in a different way. A more ethical way.
"You're… going to regret this decision."
"Perhaps, I will."
With my hand still pressed against her throat, I moved a little to the side and physically turned her body around before grabbing the back of her neck.
At the same time that I acted, the Twisted man beside me moved, its movements following me as it tried to reach for me, but stopped the moment I applied more force onto the woman's neck.
'Yes, as expected… It won't move as long as I can threaten her life.'
"Go. Walk ahead."
I pushed her with my hand, leading her towards the door of the house as the woman followed along with my instructions without saying a single word.
But just as we moved, I stopped and looked back.
"Keep the thing here. I'll kill you if it follows me."
"…You'll die if you kill me."
"I know, so let's keep it civil between us."
I smiled docily at her. She didn't answer, nor did I care to hear her answer as I led her out of the house. At the same time, I looked back towards the Twisted Man as it stood by the door, staring in our direction without moving a single muscle.
It just stood there, staring at us without any trace of emotion.
I tore my gaze away after a few uneasy moments, gesturing for the old woman to move ahead. We began walking across the empty streets of the city, where the streetlamps flickered like dying embers under the weight of the darkness.
Each of our footsteps rang out loudly, swallowed and then spat back by the silence, as if something was listening, just beyond the edge of the light.
For a moment, I almost thought I spotted the shadow of a tall silhouette standing beneath the light.
But only for a brief moment, as it disappeared shortly after. Most surprisingly was the subtle movement from the old lady as she mumbled something underneath her breath.
It was extremely subtle. Enough to make me thing it was my imagination.
But...
'It's probably not my imagination.'
As we walked, neither one of us talked.
The silence embraced us from all sides, only to be shattered by the soft and muffled sound of our steps.
I continued to walk like this, leading the old lady to the familiar train station.
It was only after I saw the train station that I drew a secret sigh of relief.
'Almost there. I'm almost there and I can finally go back to the real world.'
This entire experience felt like a nightmare to me. Not only was the cult that I had been trying to investigate a lot bigger and more troublesome than I expected, but it also appeared to be capable of healing Cognitive Shards.
'There's also that architect she talked about… Who exactly is he, and what is his involvement with the mist that surrounds the islands?'
There were so many questions in my mind, and yet, no answers.
But that was fine.
I understood that I was going to get my answers soon enough, and eventually, stopping by the all too familiar train, I opened the carriage door and entered, settling my gaze over the exit of the world.
'Finally.'
Finally, I could go back to the real world.